Druid Peak

Marni Zelnick, 2015

IMDB

4/5

After involved in an incident involving a teenage death, Owen is forced to move in with his absentee father Everett. After learning that his father works with wolves as a park ranger, he soon develops an affection for the animals as well while also forming a bond with a man that hasn't been around his whole life.

People say that Disney's Bambi caused a whole generation of kids to not hunt deer. Perhaps you could say the same thing about Druid Peak, that it could stop a whole generation of kids from hunting wolves (if that’s even a thing?). Druid Peak is sort of like a less Disney-fied version Simon Wincer’s 1993 film Free Willy. Both stories follow a conflicted human character that finds solace in the animal world with a specific creature. Druid Peak even has that similar signature shot of the kid running alongside the animals very much like Jesse did in Willy. But it stops there. Just so you know, there isn't an over-dramatic shot of the wolves jumping over a pile of rocks. Druid is much more transformative, much more thorough. Owen is a very troubled kid. He resembles someone that we all went to high school with. Lacking the male role model, he takes out various forms of aggression on everyone around him. In this case, it’s grabbing a pencil in the class from the kid in front of him. Or it’s throwing a beer bottle in a fire knowing that it’s going to upset someone nearby. He is a true ticking time bomb. He's walking down a very predictable path that ultimately ends behind bars.

The film is guilty of being a bit formulaic. You get a sense early on that the wolves are going to help rehabilitate Owen.  Of course here has to be an injected conflict after he forms the affection for the animals, so of course we input the ranchers who are hungry for wolf blood after losing their cattle. You can also see the romantic elements coming a mile away between Owen and rancher daughter Zoe (played by Harmony Korine’s wife Rachel Korine). And the fellow rangers seem a bit too accepting of Owen. You would think in a real-life situation, they wouldn't necessarily be singing kumbaya by the fire within the first couple of weeks. You would think people would feel a bit threatened by the newcomer who is flying around their park with his father and calling some of the shots. Maybe things are different up there in Wyoming. But none of these elements are really all that distracting. The movie still manages to be quite touching. A lot of this has to do with Owen specifically. You really see an arch in his character. You don't really want to spend any more time with him than you have to when he is still living with his mother. But the good qualities in him really do come out, and they feel authentic. The missing voids are filled, giving him a sense of purpose but also some guidance by his father. The good cinematography in the film feels much bigger than the $100K budget they were working with. The great indie-folk soundtrack blends in perfectly with the beautiful Wyoming backdrop. You come to a movie like Druid Peak wondering if they are going to do anything different with the man-loves-animal theme, and fortunately here they really do.

The Elephant in the Living Room

Michael Webber, 2010

Can I Stream It?

2/5

This documentary focuses on the subculture of exotic animal collectors who recklessly attempt to obtain everything from Bengal Tigers to Gaboon Vipers.

Michael Webber directs a detailed documentary with a topic immediately interesting on paper. The fascination that some Americans have with exotic animals is quite cleverly explained when a doctor being interviewed in the film explains during his missionary trips to Africa he noticed that the residents kept their distance from the poisonous snakes. But some Americans try to get closer to them. They ignore the risks. They even put them in the hands of our children. Obviously its a small fraction of the American population, because most of us are quite happy having a golden retriever. These exotic animal collectors are looking for something more. There are voids to fill. Statements to make. There is a certain irony to it, because a dog has a lot more to offer than a reptile who is really only focused on it's next meal. It's not to say that all of the animals are completely shut off emotionally. The lions shown on Ohio hillbilly Terry Brumfield's property clearly have SOME kind of emotional connection to him. He feels it justifies possessing them. But there's much more to it. He seems to be a very lonely person. He seems to be quite isolated from the rest of society, and when he IS in public he is eager to show off the offspring of his carnivorous pets. There's a sense of entitlement that these people have that is frustrating, irresponsible, and also cruel.

The hero of the film is clearly Public Safety Officer Tim Harrison. He works tirelessly to find homes for the animals that constantly become too much to care for or unwanted, selflessly cleaning up everyone else's mess. Tim's work is like that of an inner-city police officer, no matter how many hours he puts in the problems will never go away. An existential grindstone.

While the film examines the subculture, it doesn't make emotional impression like animal-based documentaries tend to do (Grizzly Man, Blackfish, The Cove). It's difficult to come away from it with anything really memorable like the aforementioned docs. If only Webber could have dug a little deeper. What if he was able to spend more time at the Amish exotic pet auction? Go deeper into the underworld? It would have been worth the risk. The film takes the easy path of demonizing the animal collectors. It ultimately comes off as more of an extended episode of Animal Planet's Fatal Attractions.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale

Lasse Hallstrom, 2009


3/5

Based on a true story, Parker Wilson (Richard Gere) discovers a stray dog at his local train station. Not wanting to surrender it to the pound, he decides to take it home. He soon discovers that the dog returns to the train station every day to await his return from the University where he teaches.

The Japanese story of Hachiko, the loyal Akita Inu, is told in Western form. It's a compelling story and a look at an everlasting emotional bond of dog and man. Richard Gere is reunited with Jason Alexander, who plays Carol the station manager. Although the film is quite formulaic, it doesn't need to run on much more than its rather basic story to extract the teardrops. Gere is effective as the forbearing father who can't think of the dog spending the night in the cold puppy pound. Ironically, Hachi sits through the cold winter months waiting for Parker to step off of the train cart. The connection between the two is both unique and inspiring. Hallstrom uses creative techniques such as shooting from Hachi's perspective, using vague colors to mimic canine vision. The emotional tone of the movie will solicit memories of Marley and Me. While somber at times, its a story worth being told.